Whether Zhao Xifang was angry or sad, or Song Yirou was gloating, it had nothing to do with Jiang Changning.
On the 19th day of the twelfth lunar month, it was Jiang Changning's birthday. The day before, Liu Zhen personally delivered a birthday gift.
It’s not that Zhuang Qingyu is too old to come, it’s that she is pregnant again and the roads are slippery on a snowy day, so it’s not easy for her to come.
It happened that Prince Jin was at home, so he met Liu Zhen.
I don’t know what the two talked about, but at lunch, King Jin mentioned, “He’s a smart man.”
Jiang Changning curled his lips and said, "No one can be a businessman without dishonesty. No one can be a smart businessman without doing such a big business."
After a while, Jiang Changning asked, "Do you want to use him?"
"The smartest one is still my Ningning." Prince Jin said with a smile.
Jiang Changning raised his eyebrows, "He really needs to be used, don't give me face."
"How can I not consider your face?" King Jin laughed, "He has to be used, but if it weren't for you, I wouldn't necessarily use him."
This is the truth. Jiang Changning smiled and picked up the teacup. "Thank you, Your Majesty, for giving me a chance. I will use tea instead of wine to toast Your Majesty."
"Your Highness, you are so polite. I will drink first as a sign of respect." Prince Jin picked up the teacup and drank half of it in one gulp.
The couple was chatting and laughing, feeling warm and cozy, when Shu Fei came in and greeted them, "Princess, someone from the Ningxia Palace is here, begging you to save Madam Zhuang's life."
Jiang Changning was stunned. "Where is the messenger? Let him in. I have something to ask."
"She's at the gate of the courtyard. I'll call her in." Shu Fei retreated.
After a while, Shu Fei brought someone in. Jiang Changning recognized her as Shui Lian, the maidservant beside Zhuang Qingchan.
As soon as Shui Lian entered the room, she knelt on the ground and kowtowed, "Cousin, please save our wife."
"Tell me what happened. If I don't know the situation, how can I save people?" Jiang Changning pressed the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief, "Go ahead."
"My wife is pregnant and it's been almost three months. The princess found out and wants to give her an abortion drug." Shui Lian said simply.
"Have you taken it?" Jiang Changning asked.
Shui Lian was startled, "I tried my best to block it, but it didn't pour."
"Then why do you want me to save a life?" Jiang Changning took the teacup handed to him by King Jin and took a sip of tea.
"The princess said she would not let my wife go and would definitely get rid of the baby in her belly. Cousin, please save our wife. I beg you."
"The Ningxia Palace has a dowager queen and a prince. How can they not control Princess Song? Does it still need the help of the Jin Palace?" Jiang Changning took the lid of the cup and gently removed the floating tea.
"Cousin, please save our lady. Your great kindness will never be forgotten by my lady." Shui Lian did not answer her question but kept kowtowing and begging for help.
Jiang Changning laughed, "Prince of Ningxia, the Ningxia Concubine Dowager is afraid of the power of the Song family and dares not discipline Princess Song. She wants me to be the bad guy. My Jin Palace is indeed not afraid of the Song family, but why should I provoke that crazy woman Song Yirou?"
"Cousin Girl"
"Also, I have been married to Prince Jin and have been his princess for more than a year. Are you trying to remind me of something by calling me cousin all the time?" Jiang Changning asked in a cold voice.
"I, I just hope that Princess will not forget the affection you have for my wife. After all, we grew up together and I cannot just stand by and watch her die." Shui Lian said.
Jiang Changning put the teacup heavily on the table and said, "Go back and tell the person who asked you to come to Prince Jin's Mansion not to treat people as fools. He is not the only smart person in the world."
Seeing this, Shu Fei immediately called someone in, covered Shui Lian's mouth, and dragged her out.
Throwing her at the gate, Fu Cui cursed at her, "As expected, a slave follows his master. There are no good people in the village. They only know how to scheme against others. Get out of here. Don't come to my house again. If you dare to come again, I will let the dogs bite you to death."
After driving Shui Lian away, King Jin stroked Jiang Changning's back and said, "Don't be upset. It's not worth it for these people."
"I'm not annoyed, I just think it's quite funny. Tell me, whose idea was this?" Jiang Changning asked.
"Helian Yuanzai."
"A smart-aleck."
On the other side, Shui Lian returned to the Ningxia Palace.
When the King of Ningxia saw her coming back alone, he frowned and said, "I didn't see the Princess of Jin."
"I saw it, I saw it." Shui Lian was terrified because she hadn't accomplished anything.
"Why didn't she come?" asked King Ningxia in a deep voice.
"The Princess of Jin said." Shui Lian made up her mind and repeated everything Jiang Changning said without changing a word.
Prince Ningxia's face turned pale. After Song Yirou found out that Zhuang Qingchan was pregnant, she indeed wanted to give her an abortion, saying that she had given birth to a bastard's son instead of a legitimate one, which was against the rules.
But with the concubine around, Song Yirou made a fuss twice before being suppressed.
Of course, the King of Ningxia wanted a legitimate son. After all, only a legitimate son could inherit the title.
But Song Yirou wouldn't let him touch her, so how could he have a legitimate son
He wanted to divorce his wife and remarry. Zhuang Qingchan was pregnant and Song Yirou was making a fuss, so he wanted to use the power of Prince Jin's Mansion to secretly kill Song Yirou, making the Song family and Prince Jin's Mansion enemies, and he could pretend to be the victim.
Who knew that Princess Jiang of Jin would not even come to visit.
"You useless thing, you can't even do such a small thing." King Ningxia kicked Shui Lian and said, "Get lost."
Shui Lian endured the pain and trotted away.
Back in Zhuang Qingchan's yard, Zhuang Qingchan was sitting by the incense burner, making small clothes. Seeing her come in, she asked, "Where have you been?"
Shui Lian walked to the small wooden stool at her feet and sat down, motioning the two little girls to go out, and then said, "Miss, you have to save this servant."
"What happened?" Zhuang Qingchan asked.
Shui Lian told him everything and said, "My cousin is really heartless."
Zhuang Qingchan stared at her, which made her feel uncomfortable. She touched her face and said, "Madam, what's wrong? Is there something wrong with me?"
"You have a lot of ideas, but I dare not order you around anymore. Just find a place by yourself." Zhuang Qingchan said calmly.
"Miss, I dare not disobey the prince's words. Please don't abandon me." Shui Lian cried.
"Go out." Zhuang Qingchan said.
"Miss, I have served you for seven or eight years. Do you really not remember our friendship at all?"
Zhuang Qingchan pursed her lips and said nothing. Shui Lian talked about the past and cried and begged.
She was not a hard-hearted person. "Okay, stop crying. Don't get involved in this matter in the future. I will plead with the prince for you."
"Thank you, ma'am. Thank you, ma'am." Shui Lian wiped the tears from her face.
Jiang Changning had no idea about what was happening in the Ningxia Palace. After she woke up from a nap, she received a birthday gift from the banker.
This time, it was not the clothes and shoes sewn "personally" by Wu and Zou, but a white jade statue of Guanyin, the Goddess of Childbirth, and a set of gilded pomegranate headwear.
Jiang Changning smiled, knowing that playing the emotional card was useless.
"This headdress is too rough, you shouldn't wear it." Prince Jin picked up a hairpin, looked at it, and threw it back into the box.
"I don't want to wear it, Fangju, put it in the west warehouse." Jiang Changning smiled, "It's okay to give it to people as a reward."
"Come, I have a gift for you too." King Jin took her hand and led her out of the house.